[thespin]

Isn't it "slow" because it dates back to the practice of flying cargos of checks across the country to be cleared by other banks? For each check, that process could take up to a few days to complete. Hence the applicable time periods for clearance.

Not sure about Dwolla, but if banks can acquire (or develop, though that seems unlikely) a payment method that is easier to use that the ones we currently have, and thereby it increases consumer spending, I would take that seriously.

Why would banks promote banking via smartphones and iPads as they do? Seems like that would be opening customers up to considerable insecurity and a host of potential technological glitches.

Maybe it's because those devices are so easy to use they stimulate customers to use bank services more liberally and frequently.

Not to mention reducing the costs of providing face to face customer service.